Alien bees?

[JohnnyLovely]

What do you think of the Alienbees strobes?
From the photos I've seen, it yields great results.
I have yet to talk to someone who uses it though.
So, any feedback on it?

 

[SpeedTrap]

I use them and I like them, I have used them on everything from weddings to fashion shoots and they work great.
They are inexpensive, reliable and affordable with great customer service to back them up.

 

[Village Idiot]

I've seen test that show that color temp and power output at low power levels is inconsistent. Personal use, I like mine so far.

 

[LAW2]

I use three AB800's with no complaints. I would buy them again even if I had twice the money.

 

[Big Mike]

I use them and like them.

 

[keith204]

great topic. I've been eyeing them for quite some time now...I saw a guy at a Barmitzvah using one for some simple room fill light - how well does this work? He just had it pointing towards the ceiling in a corner of the room, and it lit up every time he clicked the button (PW attached to cam). That alone sounds real nice to give dark rooms just a bit more umph without using batteries...then I can tone down the on-camera strobe a bit for a more balanced foreground/background.

Would a SB800 do the trick for medium-sized rooms?

 

[Big Mike]

Would a SB800 do the trick for medium-sized rooms?

As always, it depends on several factors...but it probably would.

I know a wedding photographer or two, who does that type of thing on a regular basis. One or two strobes (could be studio or speedlite) positioned in a room to boost the 'ambient' light in the shots. Then another light, either on camera or off, used to light the subjects in the image.

 

[keith204]

As always, it depends on several factors...but it probably would.

I know a wedding photographer or two, who does that type of thing on a regular basis. One or two strobes (could be studio or speedlite) positioned in a room to boost the 'ambient' light in the shots. Then another light, either on camera or off, used to light the subjects in the image.

cool. I'm debating between a 580EX to trigger the 430ex off-camera...or, an alienbee and a pocket wizard, with my 430 on camera. The AB/PW isn't really that much more expensive (about $80 more), but seems more practical.

 

[Big Mike]

If you stick with the Canon system, you can retain E-TTL metering and even control the power of the remote flash, from the master unit. You do have to put up with IR connection rather than radio waves...which is probably OK indoors but sucks outdoors, especially in the sun light.

With a radio system, the remote flash is manual control only...but that really isn't too hard to do, once you get your head wrapped around it.

In this scenario, I'm thinking that you could even have the off camera (room) light manually controlled via a radio connection and still have the on-camera flash using E-TTL.